Vintage Bamboo Papasan Armchair, 1960s

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The papasan chair—also known as the "bowl chair" or shell chair—originated in Southeast Asia, where artisans curved bamboo stems into … Read more The papasan chair—also known as the "bowl chair" or shell chair—originated in Southeast Asia, where artisans curved bamboo stems into large, bowl-shaped seats, designed for relaxed, informal seating. The shape arrived in Western interiors between the 1960s and 1970s, when natural cane furniture was closely tied to the era's taste for the exotic: verandas, conservatories, and informal living rooms in Europe and the United States adopted these chairs as a relaxed alternative to stiffer upholstered seating. In Italy, bamboo furniture circulated both through direct imports and through workshops specialized in hot-bending the cane, furnishing beach houses, verandas, and the bohemian-style interiors typical of those two decades; bamboo was particularly prized for being lighter than rattan, with a naturally segmented and more rigid structure. See less